UNCA Teaching Fellows Return from Recent Trip to Cambridge

Amanda Allgood, Melanie Currie, Jennifer Davis, Lauren Deal, Sarah Gammons, Evan Guyer, Christy Lusk, Nick Phillips and Holly Procita were among 16 UNCA Teaching Fellows and other UNCA students to participate in a recent trip to Cambridge, England. The trip is part of the Teaching Fellows Junior Enrichment Activities.

The Cambridge Experience took students to Lucy Cavendish College in Cambridge for three weeks of study and cultural exchange, followed by a week of independent travel. Participants received up to seven hours of university credit in arts and humanities through classes that were tailored to the history and unique cultural resources of the university. English museums, theaters and architecture were used as major resources and laboratories for learning.

In addition to courses in arts and humanities, taught by UNCA drama assistant professor Laura Facciponti and literature and languages professor David Hopes, students compared British and American educational systems, visited English schools, and attended discussions with English teaching professionals.

Learning continued outside the classroom as students traveled to Stonehenge, the Roman Baths, Blenheim Place, Granchester, Oxford and the Globe Theatre, which included a backstage tour and lecture.

After three weeks of formal classroom study and travel, students continued their travels independently. Some students remained in Great Britain to explore Scotland, Ireland or Wales, while others crossed the channel to visit France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland.

Facciponti, who served as Director of Cambridge 2000, noted how rewarding the trip was for the entire group. "The students were so profoundly affected by this full immersion into a different culture and by continuous exposure to artistic events and historic sites," she said. "When students went off for their free travel, they continued to pursue cultural experiences fueled by a new level of independence and appreciation of art and the humanities."

Mulitcultural opportunities are offered to the UNCA Teaching Fellows in annual trips to national and international cities. Aside from Cambridge, England, Teaching Fellows have visited and toured schools in New York, New Orleans, Savannah, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. There are also study abroad opportunities, including a trip to Ghana, Africa.

The North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program is designed to attract high school seniors into the teaching field. Each year the program awards 400 North Carolina seniors a $26,000 scholarship for four years of undergraduate study. In return, students must teach four years in a North Carolina public school. UNCA is one of the 14 public and private North Carolina colleges and universities approved to participate in the Teaching Fellows Program.

For more information about the Teaching Fellows Program at UNCA, contact Brenda Hopper, Teaching Fellows Program director, at 828/251-6901 or visit the Web site.

Media Contacts:

• Brenda Hopper, Teaching Fellows director, 828/251-6901
• Jill Yarnall, UNCA Public Information assistant, 828/251-6526